Each year, many people are in a hurry to receive their federal income tax refund and want to know exactly when the refund check will be delivered into their possession. Some years ago, the IRS got tired of answering all of those calls and installed an online system that monitors your tax return status, and an automated telephone service for this job.

How to find your tax return status online:

The IRS Internet site that handles the tax return status monitoring is called, Where’s My Refund. If you type those words into your computer search bar at the top of your computer screen and click ‘search’ the IRS site will be near the top of the search list that shows on your monitor. This is a very easy site for new computer users to use.

To find out what your tax return status is, enter your filing status as it appears on your taxes, your social security number or personal tax identification number, and the exact dollar amount of the refund that you requested on your tax papers. The results will show where your check is if the IRS has processed your taxes.

When there is no information about your filing in the monitoring system, this is normally because the IRS has not processed your taxes yet. For mailed filings, the IRS can take over 6 weeks to process the forms. If your tax papers were filed electronically, the IRS can take over 3 weeks to process your income tax refund.

If the tax return monitoring system shows your refund check as delivered, and you do not have your check, it is time to call the IRS offices quickly. The IRS telephone system is automated. To get to a real person to speak to, simply wait through their instructions until the machine tells you what number to push on your telephone.

According to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, each taxpayer is entitled to have all of their questions answered in a nice manner. The IRS is required to completely explain every question that you have about how the tax system works, and they must supply help for tax problems when needed. Your call to the IRS will be a pleasant experience.

How to find your tax return status by telephone:

To receive your tax return status by telephone, call the IRS Tax Refund Hotline at: 1.800.829.1954 . This is an automated system that works like the online tax refund monitoring system talked about above. You will be asked to enter your social security number, spouses social security number if filing jointly, the tax return filing status, and the exact dollar amount of the refund to receive the tax return status information.